In the past decade, much theoretical research has focused on studying the strong coupling between organic molecules (or quantum emitters, in general) and light modes. The description and prediction of polaritonic phenomena emerging in this light–matter interaction regime have proven to be difficult tasks. The challenge originates from the enormous number of degrees of freedom that need to be taken into account, both in the organic molecules and in their photonic environment. On one hand, the accurate treatment of the vibrational spectrum of the former is key, and simplified quantum models are not valid in many cases. On the other hand, most photonic setups have complex geometric and material characteristics, with the result that photon fields corresponding to more than just a single electromagnetic mode contribute to the light–matter interaction in these platforms. Moreover, loss and dissipation, in the form of absorption or radiation, must also be included in the theoretical description of polaritons. Here, we review and offer our own perspective on some of the work recently done in the modeling of interacting molecular and optical states with increasing complexity.

中文翻译：

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分子极化激元的理论视角


在过去的十年中，许多理论研究都集中在研究有机分子（或一般的量子发射器）和光模式之间的强耦合。事实证明，描述和预测这种光-物质相互作用机制中出现的极化子现象是一项艰巨的任务。这一挑战源于需要考虑有机分子及其光子环境中的大量自由度。一方面，前者振动谱的准确处理是关键，简化的量子模型在很多情况下是无效的。另一方面，大多数光子装置具有复杂的几何和材料特性，因此对应于多个电磁模式的光子场有助于这些平台中的光与物质相互作用。此外，吸收或辐射形式的损耗和耗散也必须包含在极化子的理论描述中。在这里，我们回顾了最近在复杂性不断增加的相互作用的分子和光学状态的建模中所做的一些工作，并提出了我们自己的观点。